As you may know, my brother Robert Fripp played on David Bowie’s Heroes.
In our presentations on How to Be a Hero For More Than One Day, I ask Robert questions and he gives brilliant and thoughtful answers.
PF How do we become a hero?
RF Practice!
We practice acts of heroism. Two approaches: the extensive & the intensive approaches.
The extensive: the hero does what is possible for them – plus 10%. This gradually extends the parameters of our competence.
We begin with what is possible and move gradually towards the impossible.
The intensive: to undertake an act of quality.
A third approach is extensive-intensive: we undertake acts of quality on a regular basis.
PF What is an act of quality?
RF An act of quality follows the injunction: honor necessity, honor sufficiency.
Honor necessity is the Rule of Quality.
Honor sufficiency is the Rule of Quantity.
When we honor necessity, we do what is required of us; regardless of like and dislike, and personal interest.
When we honor sufficiency, we use the right amount of the right kind of energy necessary to do the job, to discharge the function.
We address the economy, ecology, and efficiency of the energy supply: the quality, quantity & intensity of energy needed to do the job.
The aim is to do as little as possible, and as much as is necessary.
Attention. In practice, an act of quality is governed by the quality of our attention. So, an important part of practicing acts of quality is practicing attention.
PF Why is an act of quality important?
RF Because this is how we transform our sorry world, one small act at a time.
The first principle is: Quality is ungovernable by number.
So, a small act of quality is as big as a big act of quality.
In the Gospels, we have the Parable of The Widow’s Mite. In the World of Quantity, her donation was worthless. In the World of Quality, she gave all that she had.
The second principle is: Quality spreads.
An act of quality moves out and into the world, and has effect in ways we’ll never know.
We will never see the results & repercussions of an act of quality; although we may be confident that Right Action will have Just Consequences.
If you missed part one Robert Fripp How to Be a Hero For More Than One Day
If you enjoyed this you will really love The Wit, Wisdom, and Life of Robert Fripp
